PLATTEKILL — Thousands of roosters were seized from a Plattekill farm Sunday, where they were being trained to kill and fight as part of a large, organized cockfighting ring that spanned several states and operated for years, said the state Attorney General's office.

James Nani

PLATTEKILL — Thousands of roosters were seized from a Plattekill farm Sunday, where they were being trained to kill and fight as part of a large, organized cockfighting ring that spanned several states and operated for years, said the state Attorney General's office.

They called it the largest cockfighting takedown in New York history and among the biggest in U.S. history.

"Cockfighting is a cruel, abusive and barbaric practice that tortures animals, endangers the health and safety of the public and is known to facilitate other crimes," Schneiderman said.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Attorney General's Office were on hand at 230 Plattekill Ardonia Road early Sunday.

They hauled hundreds of crates filled with roosters via truck and tractor from the 90-acre farm.

Crows from roosters could be heard coming from one of five large ASPCA trailers quickly being filled with the fowls. Lights were brought in so authorities could continue working into the night.

The Ulster County Sheriff's Office also lent a hand with the investigation by providing aerial surveillance and other support.

The farm had operated for years under the guise of being a live poultry farm, its owners hiding hundreds of makeshift cages in deplorable condition within the center of the property to avoid detection, the attorney general's office said.

Farm manager Manuel Cruz, 60, and Jesus Cruz, 37, a farmhand, were arrested and are being held in Ulster County Jail on $50,000 bail or $100,000 bond. Both are facing felony charges of training and having animals with intent to fight them.

The owners of the roosters were charged rent to board, feed and care for roosters that were bred and trained for fighting for people in New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts, the attorney general's office said.

Roosters were bred and trained at the farm, then brought to cockfighting events. A cockfight in Woodhaven, Queens and a pet shop in Bushwick, Brooklyn also were raided this weekend.

State police and Homeland Security both helped in those investigations.

At the farm, the roosters were plied with performance-enhancing drugs, had sharpened gaffs attached in place of their natural spurs and were locked in a small pen to be wagered upon, the attorney general's office said.

President and CEO of the ASPCA, Matt Bershadker, said he was at the Woodhaven cockfighting ring Saturday night during the raid and was impressed by the commitment of Schneiderman's office to take seriously and lend resources to what he called a "blood sport."

He said he couldn't recall a cockfighting case that was larger in scale.

"This is without question a brutal, brutal activity undoubtedly linked to other violent crimes," Bershadker said.

The roosters were being held in an undisclosed location, considered evidence in the investigation. The ASPCA will help house, care for, and treat them.